Fort Lauderdale News from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • 48

4DlHHfr Fort Lauderdale Newg and Sun-Sentinel. Saturday, January 2, 1971 Tagge Turns To Feet And Not By Choice JIIAMI Nebraska quarterback Jerry Tagge, who is not known for his running, turned runner last night in the 37th annual Orange Bowl Classic, and combined with his passing, led the Cornhuskers past Louisiana State, 17-12. "I didn't run by choice," said Tagge, who carried the ball 16 times for a net of 40 yards and one touchdown. The touchdown was a one-yard sneak in the fourth his running in the 67-yard touchdown drive in 14 plays. While Tagge was sitting in the Nebraska dressing room last night a Husker official said, "That's the fastest I've quarter that provided the final margin.

The 6-foot-2 senior completed 12 of 25 passes for 153 yards but this was expected. What was unexpected was A Night To Stay At Home Nebraska's Jeff Kinney was frustrated a couple of times in the first half last night even though the Cornhuskers moved the ball well. Above, he waits on an end zone pass that never arrived, then he's stacked up by tough LSU defense. ever seen you run. "I was just scared to death," smiled Tagge.

He gained 20 yards of the 67 and passed for an additional 32. "The big play of the game was when I hit Jeff Kinney for 17 yards to the five-yard line," said Tagge. Two plays later Tagge scored the winning touchdown. He was voted the game's outstanding back. "Penalties hurt us throughout the game," he said, "and I thought I played a poor mental game.

I knew the LSU defense forward and backward but I just made mistakes." In the winning touchdown drive, Coach Bob Devaney told Tagge to. stick to the type of offense that Nebraska has been successful with all season. "He told me to try and stay away from the long pass," said Tagge. "And all I did was follow his instructions." "We had planned to alternate Tagge and Van Brown-son," said Devaney. "But we wanted to go with the passing gariie and Jerry had the hot hand." While the offense was gaining 293 yards against LSU's stingy defense, including 132 yards rushing against a Tiger team that had been allowing only 62 yards on the ground, the Nebraska defense stole the spotlight from the Southeastern Conference champion.

Nebraska sophomore defensive end Willie Harper, who was selected the most valuable lineman in the game, was the key to the Husker defense. Harper only made three unassisted tackles but came up with the big fumble recovery late in the game when the Tigers were threatening to score again. He wrestled the ball from LSU quarterback Bert Jones and ran for another five yards before he was finally pulled down. "The ball just got hooked in my arm," said Harper. "One of our guys had him (Jones) and I was just coming over to help." "We had heard a Jot about LSU's defense," said Harper, "and we just wanted to prove that we had a good one, also." When You're iw roil ZxJxf i 'Sal A 1 31 With LSU trailing early in the game, the Tigers' mascot, Cajun, gets in a few winks as a patrolman supplies Orange Bowl ipiiiiiiii v.

v-- 5f ilfils 7 Nebr OB aska Hangs On To Beat Tigers, 17-12, In (Continued from Page ID) yard run by Orduna, both scores coming after LSU fumbles. The Tigers closed the score to 10-3 with a 36-yard field goal by Mark Lumpkin with only 49 seconds remaining in the half. The Cornhuskers' first score came at 2:40 of the quarter following an erratic drive frdm their own 44 to the LSU 10. The drive took 15 plays and included 20 yards in losses for the Cornhuskers. Nebraska got its opportunity after LSU's sophomore tailback, Chris Dantin, subbing for starter Art Can-trelle, missed a handoff from quarterback Buddy Lee.

Nebraska's Dave Walline fell on the ball at the Nebraska 44. During the drive, Corn-husker quarterback Jerry Tagge hit six passes including a 14-yarder to tight end Jerry List which moved the ball to the LSU eight. The key play was a fourth down-and-one dive over the middle by junior Jeff Kinney, keeping the drive alive at the LSU 33. Once Nebraska got to the eight, the famed LSU defense stiffened and pushed Nebraska back to the 15. Rogers field goal followed a third-down pass from Tagge to Johnny Rodgers to the 10.

The' Cornhuskers got the ball right back following the ensuing kickoff when Lee fumbled on the first play from scrimmage. Nebraska's 6-foot-6 defensive tackle Larry Ja-cobson knocked the ball from Lee's hand on an end sweep and Willie Harper fell on it for Nebraska at the LSU 15.. Orduna swept right end for 12 and then scooted under the pile from the three for the Nebraska touchdown. LSU was unable to mount any kind of drive until late in the first half. With 3:46 to play, LSU took the ball at its own 24 and drove to the Nebraska 10.

Lee hit four' passes to Andy Hamilton of 22, 17, 6 and 9 yards during the drive. Harper, however, caught Lee for a 10-yard loss when the Tigers -had second-and-one at the 10. Lumpkin kicked through the field goal with 40 seconds left for LSU's only points of the first half, making ine dressing room was a complete pandemonium as several coaches were thrown into the shower amid cries of "we're No. 1." "I thought we were No. i all along," said Tagge, "and I think we proved it tonight." Nebraska jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter on a 26-yard field goal by Paul Rodgers and a three- the score Nebraska 10, LSU 3.

But Tagge and the Cornhuskers erased the Tigers' brief lead as the fourth quarter opened. On the clinching TD march, Orduna picked up 17 of the 67 yards on four carries and Tagge hit three passes for 32 yards, including a third-down pass of 17 yards to Jeff Kinney. The Tigers had three chances to score following the Tagge touchdown but were stopped on downs, by a fumble and an interception. One bright spot for the Tigers was the pass receiving of junior Andy Hamilton, who hauled in nine for 146 yards. Tagge completed 12 of 25 passes for 153 yards and had one intercepted.

The LSU quarterback tandem of Lee and sophomore Bert Jones hit 17 of 34 for 217 yards. Paul Rogers Gets Nebraska Out Front, 3 0, With 26-Yard Field Goal. Are Cornhuskers No In iwt ion i More Bonduranf LSU'S BUDDY LEE GOING NOWHERE thanks to tackle Dave Walline (Continued from Page ID) That all changed with alarming suddenness. An LSU upset could qualify three or four teams for the title perhaps even LSU and a Nebraska win, in the minds of many, would insure that it would earn the title. The last time a similar situation existed was in 1966, when Alabama vaulted from fourth to first in the national standings on the strength of a 39-28 thrashing of this same Nebraska.

Going into the 37th annual Orange Bowl, Nebraska was ranked third behind Texas and Ohio State, Notre Dame, meanwhile, was sixth behind both Tennessee and LSU, even though the Irish had beaten LSU in the regular season. No team has ever jumped from sixth to first in a single dramatic lunge, and the odds are probably long against the Irish doing it now. Notre Dame's strength is that it beat No. 1. Nebraska's, of course, is that it is the lone remaining major unbeaten aside from Arizona State, which is not in contention for the play, the ball changed hands four times on errors.

Nebraska, driving for what seemed to be a sure insurance field goal, lost the ball at the LSU 13 when Joe Orduna fumbled and Richard Picou recovered with 4:09 left. LSU rambled out to its own 48 before quarterback Bert Jones gave it back to Nebraska on a fumble recovered by Willie Harper, the Cornhuskers' defensive end and the game's most valuable lineman. A minute and 20 seconds were left and it seemed all over. Tagge gave the Bengals one last chance 30 seconds later when he fumbled the ball away to Buddy Milligan at the LSU 40, Jones immediately threw an interception to Bob Terrio, and then Tagge went into his stall act, running out the clock. "Now," said Nebraska's Bob Devaney, "I don't even see how the Pope could vote Notre Dame No.

1." Admirable logic, except the Pope doesn't vote in this poll. national title. For a while, it seemed that neither LSU nor Nebraska would be able to crack their nervousness enough to win. The Cornhuskers jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, but needed strong help from LSU to do Nebraska picked up its field goal and touchdown after recovering LSU fumbles at the Nebraska 44 and LSU 24. The Bengals, in turn, were so hapless they rushed for a minus-45 yards in the first half, salvaging three points only on Mark Lumpkin's 36-yard field goal with 49 seconds left.

In the second half, it was bomb and intercept' and fumble as neither side could establish clear superiority. After Nebraska took the final 17-12 lead with 8:50 left to STAFF PHOTOS: LOU TOMAN, HENRY FICHNER.